Three Global Theodicies on Evil in the Universe‏

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Table of Contents

The Augustinian Theodicy
The Irenaean Theodicy
Process Theodicy
Comparing the Three Global Theodicies on Evil in the Universe
Conclusion
Works Cited

The Augustinian Theodicy

The Augustinian Theodicy assumes the creation of evil to have originated from the act of waywardness that Adam and Eve performed in the Garden of Eden. The Augustinian perspective allows for the responsibility for the creation of evil to fall squarely upon the shoulders of the man himself and the creation of means to rid the world of evil, upon God, by sending Christ into the world (2008).

This theory states that man’s timely downfall began the day Adam and Eve were tempted by the devil to have a taste of the forbidden fruit, even though they were well aware of the fact that God had forbidden them from doing so. Yet they betrayed God and made their own decision choosing their exemption from paradise and were thrust into the world.

The fact of importance here is that this theodicy is in complete compliance with the Bible and it contradicts no point of it and smoothly follows. But the argument stated here is a strong one.

After all the Almighty creator did create humankind the most superior being, the only being to be granted the gift of free will, the very gift of making his own choices, of choosing among alternatives – the ultimate choice between good and evil. Why God should be blamed for making a flawed creation. God did not in any way induce or encourage evil; neither did He create a human being with the thought that this human would be a catalyst for chaos. He made mankind and gave him the liberty to know his mind. Maybe in this case God redeemed Himself of all responsibility, for the wrong actions taken by man. But the question arising here would be regarding who is God scared of. Is God answerable to anyone? The answer is no, why would God absolve Himself of such a burden just to prove Himself to someone. When the fact of the matter is that there is no one higher than the Almighty Himself.

Darkness is the absence of light. Darkness is not a separate entity to be studied but is simply present where light fades. Similarly, Evil is not created by God; it is simply the absence of good. The absence of the right decisions, the absence of right choices. God showed His goodness when He sent Christ into the world as a sacrifice for the pardon of all the sins of mankind. The sacrifice of an innocent life for a million lives that deserved punishment, yet the death of Christ opened doors for many sinners to enter into heaven. This shows God’s love, not his connivance, His benevolence, in granting his creation the liberty to take his own decisions, and yet God is there to pick up the pieces of a mess man himself has created.

The Irenaean Theodicy

The Irenaean Theodicy has roots in two different elements. The first was presented by St Irenaeus, who thought that man was not a creation meant to be perfect but one that was meant to achieve perfection through continuous struggle and effort.

The second root of the Irenaean Theodicy stems from the first but differs in the opinion of the reason why a man chooses to strive. According to Philosopher John Hick, the reason for the struggle and striving of man to achieve perfection is because they struggle to achieve perfection and the effort to learn more about the world is so that man can more successfully live in his world and hence, defeat evil. Philosopher John Hick refers to this process as “soul-making”, since it revolves around the development of the soul of man against the evils of the world that he lives in. In layman’s terms, this particular genre of the Irenaean Theodicy believes that the cause and effect relationship dictates the relationship between the struggle of man to achieve flawlessness and the presence of evil in his world. An example of this can be seen in modern-day medicine that strives to find cures to ailments and diseases that already exist. Hence, a struggle can only take place once there has been a reason for it to occur. Hick’s theodicy continues as he goes on to express the existence of a distance between man and God in the intangible. A distance that is based upon the knowledge that man has been created not to possess but to seek to attain. Hick also presents the argument of the existence of an afterlife. In Hick’s opinion, there are often when a mortal passes away from the world without having the chance to seek the truth of his being. This allows Hick to put forth the idea of the presence of an afterlife.

Process Theodicy

The Process Theodicy states that God is an unfixed reality that is still currently under stages of development. According to this Theodicy, God is dipolar or has two poles, one leading to the materialistic aspect and the other to the mental aspect. This theodicy claims that God is not omnipotent and therefore He has no bearing of control on the universe. He is simply a part of it. The materialistic element here is the material world itself.

Furthermore, any evil performed in the world is directly conveyed to God as God is a part of this world. God does not possess the power to stop evil but He nevertheless must bear some of the burdens as it was God Himself who started the process of evolution and began the root cause that turned into the ultimate grounds for the current situation of chaos.

Comparing the Three Global Theodicies on Evil in the Universe

Over the centuries, the perception of evil through Christianity has been led by three theodicies, one being that of St Irenaeus.

The Augustinian theory has been the subject of the teachings of the church for a long time (h2g2, 2004). According to Augustine, Theodicy God has created everything in the universe to perfection and has meant the constituents of the universe to be in perfect balance and harmony amongst each other. However, according to the Augustinian theory, evil can be classified to have gone through two phases. The first phase was inception, which occurred when Lucifer revolted against God and created evil. Evil was then brought down to earth when Adam and Eve surrendered to temptation and performed their act of disobedience to God in the garden of heaven for which were banished from the heavens to the earth until death caught up with them. Hence, through the inception and implementation of evil, the harmony and balance of the universe were disrupted and this, in turn, led to the triggering of the chain of events that has brought the world into the shape it is today.

The Augustinian Theodicy dictates, that every sin performed is a sin that is a punishment sent by God upon man for the sin that Adam and Eve did in heaven to water the plant of evil whose seed Lucifer sowed. For the same reasons, this sin is also referred to as the Original Sin. The Augustinian Theodicy explains the reason for the balancing of the unrest of this world as well (Hexter, 2003). This is seen in the presentation of the opinion that as sin after sin prevails, there will be the coming of a Judgment Day when all the elements who have spread the sin will suffer the consequences of being banished to hell, whereas all those who refused to follow in the footsteps of Lucifer will be rewarded with Heaven. Hence, according to the Augustinian Theodicy, the birth of a child requires baptism because the child is born sinful. The Augustinian Theodicy has seen much criticism over time.

On the other hand, the Irenaean theodicy brings forth the notion that God has allowed for the creation of evil to allow a man to search for perfection and spiritual perfection in the world around him and his being.

Both the Irenaean and the Augustinian Theodicies stem from the creation of evil, but the first allows the existence of evil as a tool that has been designed by God to allow his creation to achieve perfection, whereas the second perceives the existence of evil as part of a sensitive relationship that man has had with God since the day man chose to disobey God for the first time and heed the sound of Lucifer instead of His.

As far as the question of the Process Theodicy goes, it is important to highlight that firstly the argument presented in the Process Theodicy does not come forward as a theodicy, as a theodicy explains the situation of justifying God in the face of evil (Peterson, Hasker, Reichenbachl, & Basinger, 2008). But since this argument completely removes God from the omnipotence He rightly deserves, this argument fails to qualify as a Theodicy. Secondly, theologians claim that God is a rock, He is unchanging, contrary to this theology states that God is ever-changing and is under series of development.

The Augustinian Theodicy absolves God of all blame and responsibility for the current wrongdoing of mankind. The reason it states is that God granted a valuable gift to mankind that of free will (Swinburne, 1998). This showed God’s faith in his creation to make his own decisions. But the blame for wrong choices should not be placed at God’s door. This theory further puts forward God’s immense power and his control over His creation.

The Process Theory is a contradiction of the Augustinian Theodicy. It seeks to lay all the blame for the worldly chaos at God’s door. Further claiming that God accelerated chaos, by merely catalyzing the evolution of mankind even though. He does not have the power to stop or control it.

Conclusion

In short, it can be seen that the Augustinian Theodicy places the blame of all evil upon the first choice that man-made to follow Satan instead of God, whereas the Irenaean Theodicy refers to evil as a cause to work against and achieve perfection. The process theodicy prefers to contradict the first two and establishes that God, is not as in control as many consider Him to be and He cannot stop evil, but will surely give evil what it deserves by creating Judgment day.

Works Cited

h2g2. (2004). The Augustinian Theodicy: An Assessment. 2009, BBC Home. Web.

Hexter. (2003). Augustinian Theodicy. 2009, The Everything Development Company. Web.

Peterson, Hasker, Reichenbachl, & Basinger. (2008). Reason and Religious Belief: An Introduction to the Philosophy of Religion. Oxford University Press.

PhilosophyOnline.co.uk. (2008). The Augustinian Theodicy. 2009. Web.

Swinburne. (1998). Providence and the problem of evil. Oxford University Press.

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